Clothes dryers, and other household appliances include a drying space or internal working space inside a cabinet, with a door to provide access to the internal area. The appliance typically includes a control panel with exterior buttons for controlling operation of the appliance after the door is closed. The door typically includes a seal for sealingly engaging a portion of the housing around the access opening so as to preclude leakage of moisture and/or hot air during operation of the appliance. The control panel typically is spaced apart from the door to preclude exposure to moisture. More particularly, clothes dryers have sealing doors which preclude escape of both hot air and moisture driven from the wet clothes being dried. The seal typically is mounted on the interior of the dryer door and engages a flange or other surface surrounding the access opening. Such door seals are conventionally found on both tumble dryers and cabinet dryers. In the design of such dryers, and other appliances, the location of the control panel is important so as to preclude any detrimental effects from moisture or air temperatures.
Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved appliance having a seal between the appliance door and the control panel.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an appliance control panel having an upstanding surface for sealing with a seal of the appliance door.
Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of a combination tumble and cabinet dryer having doors which sealingly engage with the control panel.
Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of a clothes dryer with a door having a lip to direct condensation away from the control panel.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a clothes dryer having a seal and a moisture-directing lip which protect the control panel from exposure to moisture.
These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention.